The present invention pertains generally to lasers and more particularly to laser spectrum conditioners.
The quantum nature of gaseous molecular lasers and chemical lasers results in the production of various discrete frequencies in a generated output laser beam. Occasionally, it is desirable to condition this output beam to contain a single or predetermined set of output frequencies. This is of interest in probing various molecular laser gases to look at individual lines to determine if they are competing and also to look at pumping and relaxation aspects of the molecular gas. This is also of interest in the multiphoton process of laser isotope separation by providing a manner of choosing an optimum set of frequencies for operation of the process.
Prior art devices have, however, been designed primarily to select a single frequency signal rather than a set of frequencies. Adaptation of such systems to select a set of frequencies does not provide the desirable collinear parallel beam required in many applications.